Public Service Announces New Reforms for Public Servants

The Head of Public Service and Secretary to Cabinet, Ms. Lucy Nakyobe, has announced a raft of reforms in the civil service and stressed that government employees will only keep their jobs if they meet their set targets.

Nakyobe made the remarks while addressing heads of Local Government human resource managers and Secretaries to District Service Commissions (DSCs) at the National Leadership Institute (NALI) in Kyankwanzi on Tuesday, 28th April 2026.

“We are going to change the clause in the Standing Orders that says you are permanent and pensionable. We are going to add that you are permanent and pensionable _if you deliver_,” she said.

Nakyobe emphasized that monitoring, inspection, evaluation, and supervision will be strengthened. “Some of you sit in your offices, swing your chairs, and forget why you are there. This is no longer going to be business as usual,” she warned.

Among the new reforms is the regular transfer of Permanent Secretaries. “The Permanent Secretaries and heads of departments have to be rotated regularly. You will serve for three years and be transferred so that someone else comes in. This idea of a Permanent Secretary saying, ‘This is my accountant or procurement officer, don’t transfer him or her,’ is coming to an end,” Nakyobe said. She warned that those who resist transfers will have to “pack their bags and go home.”

Nakyobe said she is aware that Human Resource Managers often bark at their subordinates and visitors to their offices, addressing them in a condescending manner. She added that many of them are corrupt and lack patriotism.

“Corruption is not only in the DSCs; it is also in the Public Service Commission. I haven’t followed other commissions closely, but I have heard many reports of what is going on,” she noted.

She pointed out that one of the challenges fueling corruption in the DSCs is the law itself, since district service commissioners are recommended by the district executive council. “If somebody recommends you for a job, you might be lucky and be recommended because you are competent, but they also recommend you with the expectation that you will be loyal and serve their interests,” Nakyobe explained.

“I have recommended that we change the way members of the DSCs are appointed as a way of fighting corruption, because corruption in the public service is not an allegation but a fact.”

She noted that the recruitment process in the public service has been compromised by corrupt tendencies.

“You are the human resource managers and stewards of the workforce, and therefore you influence the government’s workforce. You shape the quality, discipline, productivity, and integrity of the public service. So, if recruitment is compromised, the system is weakened,” Nakyobe said.

She advised human resource managers not to limit their role to managing the entry, stay, and exit of staff from the public service. “You are also responsible for the welfare of public servants.”

Mr. Ben Kumumanya, the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Local Government, cautioned human resource managers against ‘selling’ jobs and engaging in corruption within local governments.

“We want the population to come out and inform us of the corruption mayhem. I issued a circular to all Local Governments stating that every job advert must have a disclaimer saying no one should pay money to get a job. Anybody asking for money to offer a job is committing an illegality, and that is corruption,” Kumumanya said.

He explained that the biggest challenge in fighting corruption is the lack of evidence to prosecute the culprits. “People fear to report corruption cases to agencies like the Office of the Inspector General of Government (IGG), the Criminal Investigations Department (CID), and the Anti-Corruption Unit, among other government anti-corruption bodies,” he noted.

He added that many people stray from the line because they are not committed to their cause, stressing that one must be ready to pay a price to uphold integrity.